Hurricane another sign of global warming's impact

Getty ImagesThis satellite infrared image was taken Wednesday afternoon, as Hurricane Irene began to strengthen and continued its projected path along the U.S. coastline.

We can now add Hurricane Irene among the symptoms that scientists warned we'd experience as global warming occurs.

Wind of up to 100 mph, predicted to lash the East Coast. Ocean waves as high as 12 feet. That's in line with what scientists have said, that hurricanes would become more severe as ocean temperatures rise.

Glaciers that are melting too quickly. Wildfires in Russia, the floods in Pakistan and the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in more than a half century.

No one can say for sure that man-made pollutants were the cause of any particular weather event. The science isn't that exact. But through the eyes of a rational person, these alarming weather patterns reflect the impacts that scientists have foretold: more coastal flooding and the disappearance of rain-fed crops in Africa.

Yet there's another growing trend on climate change, and that's denial. Irene hits just as nearly all the GOP-strivers are flaunting their skepticism of science, in a blind effort to prove their conservative cred. Polls show that while most Americans believe climate change is occurring, most Republicans do not.

Climate complacency is at an all-time high, thanks to those political winds. How big a disaster will it take to push our leaders back to scientific fact?